


Silly

by LearaBribage



Series: the missing pages [14]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist (Live Action), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, 青鳥の虛像 Fullmetal Alchemist | Fullmetal Alchemist: Bluebird's Illusion
Genre: Almost Kiss, Black "My Parents Are In Love" Hayate, F/M, Held Gaze(TM), Riza "But You Are Sir" Hawkeye, Roy "I Am Not Blushing Thanks" Mustang, Roy and Riza Wearing Glasses(TM), The Author Regrets Nothing, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25174717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LearaBribage/pseuds/LearaBribage
Summary: Roy and Riza go undercover to discover who's behind the illicit supply chain in Eastern Command. A lot of blushing and checking each other out while discussing whatnot occur.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye & Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Series: the missing pages [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731022
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	Silly

**Author's Note:**

> Written for roymustangfma who answered my ponderings [here](https://viridescentlights.tumblr.com/post/622900719236890624/viridescentlights-viridescentlights-i-wonder). 
> 
> I hope you enjoy ^_^

“You have glasses, too, sir?”

“Ah, yes, I thought it’d make myself more anonymous,” Roy answered, although he got the idea from her and thought it was a marvel. He fidgeted with it, fixing its position on the bridge of his nose as he looked at her from the side. “I’m still getting used to it since there’s no prescription, but it works well for you too, does it not?”

Riza nodded in response, although she eyed him from the side before looking away quickly. _Too quickly_ was what he thought, but then she suddenly remarked, “Is your vision worsening from all the reports you give us, sir?”

Roy could feel the flush rising on his cheeks, so he turned his gaze on the road.

“Your wit is as sharp as ever I see,” was all he could mutter, fighting the warmth all throughout the silence.

When they arrived near the old estate of the Hawkeyes’ in New Optain, Riza turned to him. “I think you should fold your sleeves since you always look so formal even outside HQ.”

He only nodded, as any word that would have fallen from his lips died in his throat. He was quite astounded, so to say. She has always been vigilant, his Lieutenant, but it did surprise him that she noticed his attires. He thought he was the only one paying attention since he did remark that hers looked “reasonably adequate” earlier when they met.

“Reasonably adequate” being that she wore a black shirt underneath her long-sleeved mauve jacket and partnered it with a black skirt. A highly flexible and unassuming garb, so to say, but it was enough for him to notice the alluring display of her figure much more – so unlike their uniforms, with its rigid padding and sweeping measurements.

Roy fidgeted with the collar of his shirt. This was not the time for such base observations – although he will just conclude that it really, _really_ suited her. Especially since she wore glasses as well. So, they… they would make quite the pair since he donned glasses as well and wore a white shirt underneath a light coloured coat that he partnered with grey slacks.

 _I need to pay attention to the task at hand_ , he sighed, chiding himself as he parked his car in the open field next to the estate.

He suddenly remembered that the estate was now an orphanage, so he turned to her and asked, “I forgot to ask you this, but when did the new owner – Rebecca’s grandmother, was it? – turn the orphanage into a school as well?”

“A few years after we finished the academy – they had to do some repairs, after all.”

Roy nodded, folding his sleeves as they got out of the car. “I see, have you visited it since then? Also, does this pass as casual now?”

He really shouldn’t be so conscious about it, but it has been a while since he went undercover with her. Further, they’ve never been alone like this. And while he has always maintained his composure in most missions, he’s observed he tends to waylay his streak whenever it came to her.

“Just now,” Riza replied, interrupting his thoughts. Then she approached him, fixing his cravat before raising her eyes to his. “We’re going as business partners to the warehouse on a Friday, so this should be decent now, sir.”

Roy was too shocked to speak for a second. Perhaps, it was just his imagination or a result of his overthinking earlier, but her voice was softer than usual even with her reprimand when she laid her hands on him. Still, he was not to be outdone so he caught her hands before it could leave him, pulling her closer to him.

“Lieutenant,” he whispered, his voice a little deeper than he intended.

He saw her exhale slowly before she raised her eyes to him again. “Colonel?”

“Should I…,” Roy muttered aimlessly, staring into her deep russet eyes. He wanted to say something that’s been on his mind for a long time now, but he saw how intense her eyes were, and if he… if ever he went there, there would be no turning back, and then he would have failed everyone – especially, especially her – so he took a deep breath before he gradually lowered their hands.

“Should I pay a parking fee to the estate?” he suddenly blurted, finally letting her hands go. Regretfully.

Riza blinked at the same he did before she fixed her stance, walking a few steps away from him.

“If you were alone, yes,” she answered a little curtly, “but as it stands, I’ve already informed the matron so there’s no need.”

“I see,” he replied, a little disappointed but he cannot allow themselves – especially himself – to forget the objective of the mission. “Thank you.”

Passing by the old house, he noticed how Riza only spared it a glance. Things were quiet now since it was supposedly when the matron took the children around the city, but it did remind him of how silent it was even before.

A frown rose on his lips as he recalled the days he spent helping her fix the documents to lease the property, but selling the estate was a decision she made following her father’s funeral.

Objectively, it would be the practical thing to do since maintaining such a large house would be quite a burden for her even then. However, even without her speaking of it, he knew that if there were any happy memories there, they ended once her mother died – hence, the possible reason for her insistence in parting with it.

He sighed inwardly as he followed her to the terminal. Standing beside her as they waited for a cab, though, he can’t help thinking of a way to give her some form of assurance.

A form of assurance that does not need to take place now for certain, but something that will likely ease the furrow upon her brows for the moment.

“I’ve been pondering something, Lieutenant,” he began as they successfully hailed a cab and settled inside it shortly.

“What is it, Colonel?” she asked, sitting across him.

“A small part of any stronghold’s responsibility falls under community service programs, yes?”

Riza arched a brow at him. “Although the program’s objective is mostly to encourage recruits and dissuade any dissidents, it is still a good platform. One that we have great support from all classes, so what made you think of it now, sir?”

Roy smirked at her. “This is not an exclusive idea, but we can use it as a front, don’t you think?”

“It would be the perfect excuse especially if you mean it to be a sort of a forum,” Riza agreed, looking down at her lap as she mulled over his words. Then she raised her eyes to him as a realisation dawned on her. “Do you mean to use the estate for the base you previously mentioned then, sir?”

“Yes,” Roy answered, grinning at her quick-wittedness. “But only if you allow it. Naturally, we will have Madame Christmas care for it on the side to help Rebecca’s grandmother so we do not put much attention to us. We will have more flexibility that way, too.”

Riza arched a brow. “I understand, but what of the children, sir?”

“We will plan our covert activities around their schedule,” Roy replied assuredly, having already considered that this would be one of her major concerns. “If it happens to align during the forum, the Madame knows how to deal with it, and if she so requires, we will send Breda for assistance.”

“Very well, sir,” Riza nodded, leaning to the back of her seat. “I will have no issues with it – since the matron is very reliable.”

He considered how calm she was about this, and it moved him that she would be all right with it, but would that be all she says of it?

“Are you really all right with it? It is not yet an order, although we have given it much thought already.”

She eyed him with a sigh. “I guessed as much when you mentioned an excursion here, and while I do not like the estate for my own reasons, it doesn’t mean that I should avoid it entirely when it presents us with this kind of opportunity.”

“You needn’t worry, sir,” Riza continued, her lids falling before she turned her gaze away from him.

He caught the small smile tugging at her lips just as their driver announced their arrival at the warehouse Falman mentioned in his report. They paid the driver handsomely before they alighted, and he pushed his hair back again when Riza turned to him.

“As the reports mentioned, this used to be a steel manufacturing factory,” she remarked. “It just closed down a few years ago, though, since the owner sold it to migrate somewhere from what I heard.”

“Hmm,” Roy murmured as they neared the entrance of the warehouse. “That’s probably where whoever turned this into a warehouse got his list of clienteles, don’t you think?”

Riza nodded as they easily bypassed the guard with the pass that was excellently forged and prepared by Fuery beforehand.

“If you go to the aisle to your right – it’s a bit further down there but it is there – the product should be there for you to verify,” the old guard drawled lazily.

“Thank you for your assistance,” she answered. “My boss just wanted to see the goods for himself since he’s preparing for a trip.”

“A trip? That means he’ll be a one-time client, though?”

“Most likely,” Roy replied amicably, walking ahead. “However, if these do prove to be useful, that should change.”

“That would please the sir,” the guard cheerfully answered. “Why, you might meet him in your travels, good sir! He does like his vacations, that sir!”

Roy nodded as he turned to the aisle that the guard mentioned. Riza arched a brow at the guard’s statement before she followed Roy after signing some documents. Fortunately, the height of the packages was enough to obscure them from the guard’s line of sight.

“A few weeks ago, Havoc got assigned to inventory duty on the armaments because he was smoking too much at the mess hall, and that’s when he noticed variances in the supply in New Optain,” Roy explained, glaring at the array of rifles, gunpowder, magazines, and other war materials along the row before his eyes focused on the label of the package.

“’Steel sheets and flat bars’,” he muttered angrily beside her, even as he handed her a gun from the pile to keep as evidence. “Could’ve fooled me with these Amestrian crests stamped everywhere. This would be enough to supply a war if we don’t end it here. That does beg the question of who is making a play at this, though. It’s rather remiss of them to rely on that guard. This is too lax.”

Riza furrowed her brows. “It would be unless they plan to sabotage it easily if it got questioned or found. It would not be outside of the realm of possibility, especially if they frame it as a criminal act since this used to be an old factory. Conversely, though, that may mean they could have another repository. As for the matter of the guard, they probably wanted to maintain the appearance of the steel factory so they could have used the old staff. That, and they were probably too overconfident that this would not be found out.”

Roy nodded, smirking at her. “Interesting, but who meets your profile?”

“I can only think of one.”

“Who?”

“Major General Halcrow, sir,” Riza answered, meeting his questioning gaze. “Wasn’t he the one the Elric brothers had to save from that extremist group, the Blue Squad? They attempted to kidnap the Major General to force an exchange with us for their leader back then.”

Roy smirked at the memory. “An excellent answer. What made you conclude this?”

“He’s the only one stationed with significant authority here, sir,” Riza explained, resting her eyes on the armaments once more. “But everyone also knows about his ambition. Furthermore, he has always been particularly critical of you. Given this, is it not possible for him to turn this into his stronghold since General Grumman shows no favour to him? However, I also thought that it might be him since the guard mentioned he liked to vacation – which coincidentally was what he was doing with his family when the attempted abduction took place.”

Roy nodded before he leaned back. “It’s a fine analysis, do not doubt it. I agree with you. We can verify it further later since I found no identifying documents about.”

He was about to say something when Riza signed for the both of them to keep silent at the sound of footsteps. Roy checked behind them for any disruptions just to be sure, and so far there was none, so he gestured that they should keep watch in front. Riza nodded, turning to the side, so he followed her cue.

Beside her, he noticed how the Lieutenant had parted her hair to the side, making her profile significantly apparent in front of him. Further, since he was standing rather close to her, his nose picked up on the subtle fragrance she used – it smelled like a fine blend of vanilla and roses, a very entrancing scent, really. He also can’t help noticing how the slope of her neck looked so inviting – to the point that he wanted to feel the rhythm of her heartbeat against his lips.

 _I wonder what her sighs sound li—,_ Roy halted his thoughts aggressively as her movement within his line of vision woke him from his despicable, impossible imaginings. He shook his head inwardly, forcefully reciting the maxims of Flame Alchemy in his head.

That was until Riza suddenly turned to face him, saying, “It’s the old guard, coming to check on us.”

It was fortunate then that he had stepped back away from her to avoid any unintentional clash from occurring. Inwardly, he sighed out of relief.

“All right,” Roy answered determinedly, walking alongside her as they went out. “We’ve had our fill of this, anyway.”

Roy nodded to the old guard as he neared the both of them. “I am greatly pleased with the products. I will be sending the full payment soon, then.”

“That is good to hear, sir!”

He grinned. “We are impressed with your enthusiasm. Why not have an early out, no?”

The old guard laughed heartily. “You are too kind, sir.”

“By the way, how long have you been in service here? You manage it very well!”

“Ever since it was an old steel factory, sir! It’s not, well, you know, as fancy as it is now, but it served me and my family well, ha-ha!”

Riza glanced at Roy with furrowed brows. He caught her meaning and nodded assuredly.

“You are quite dependable, sir,” she remarked as they left the warehouse. “We hope you fare well.”

Once they were out of earshot, Riza called his attention. “Sir, that man—”

“You needn’t worry,” Roy answered, sitting on a bench underneath a tree. “It’s a few minutes to five, he will be out soon, and we've checked their schedules beforehand - his reprieve will arrive much later. That aside, we’ll find something for him after this.”

Riza sat beside him, nodding. “Thank you.”

Once the count was over and Riza determined that the old guard left the premises afterwards, Roy donned his ignition gloves and set the whole warehouse on fire with a snap of his fingers.

“The warehouse was asking to be burned, if you ask me,” Roy muttered in disgust as they walked away from the explosion.

Riza sighed as they found a cab and sat inside. “That’s settled, at least.”

Roy bobbed his head in agreement, crossing his arms. “Yes, we can discuss it later,” he answered, adjusting his glasses again. 

“By the way, what happened to the one you were supposed to recruit?”

He shrugged. “I called the company who brokered our property in East City, but apparently, the family sold the business and moved to Creta. That’s as far as they told me, at least.”

“I see,” Riza replied, resting her eyes for a bit.

Once they reached the Hawkeye’s estate, they unloaded from the cab and began walking towards his car.

“What did you want to discuss, sir?” Riza asked as they settled inside his car once again.

“Halcrow,” Roy said, starting the engine. “I don’t know how well-connected he is with Bradley’s retinue, but I have a feeling he isn’t as involved as he wants to be. A large part of why I think that is because he’s too careless with the warehouse – his audacity is quite appalling. Sloppy, even. Most likely, the Daisato knows about it, but he just doesn’t care as much since he has all the resources he need.”

“Then this is mostly business for him,” Riza concluded. “But we still have to consider who his clients might be. Certainly, Aerugo is the first we can suspect since we have it on the record, but if he and others like him are really determined to make a profit out of this, then doing business with all our enemies would be possible – with the right contact, especially.”

“It is as you say,” Roy nodded as he drove. “The one thing I can respect about Halcrow’s dedication to the warehouse is the lack of any effects relating the matter to him in the premises – so we will have Breda and Falman confirm it. That is to say, that’s how we’ll do it after General Grumman hears of this first.”

“The General permitted this survey, after all,” Riza sighed.

“That’s a different headache,” Roy remarked as they neared Central City, “even if he is your grandfather and my mentor.”

Riza nodded, leaning further into her seat. He arched a brow at her, checking his side mirror before he turned right. “I’ll drive you home, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you.”

He gripped the steering wheel more tightly, though, as a question he wanted to ask her felt trapped in his throat. He wanted to know if she wanted to eat with him since they’ve had quite the day and it was evening now, but wouldn’t that be breaching protocols? 

“Lieutenant?” he asked still, trying.

Riza opened her eyes, turning to him as he parked his car beside a street curb in front of her apartment. “Yes?”

She looked so tired that the question simply died in his throat so instead he just blurted, “We’re here now.”

“Ah, all right,” she replied, getting out like him.

“I’ll walk you to your room, yes?” Roy offered, stepping in time with her as he loosened his cravat a little.

Riza glanced at him from the side, removing her glasses and sliding it in her jacket’s pocket. “If you like.”

He nodded, feeling remarkably more at ease as they went up the stairs. Not that he wanted more steps in the staircase for them to go through, but he felt that things were more peaceful whenever they walked like this together.

“We’re here,” Riza suddenly said over his thoughts. “Thank you, sir.”

He ran a hand through his hair, letting the fringes of his jet-black hair fall over his eyes. “It’s no trouble. Thank you as well.”

Riza nodded, opening the door when her dog suddenly ran towards him with a cheerful bark. He immediately kneeled down, ruffling Black Hayate’s fur as the dog licked his cheeks in greeting.

Once the dog calmed down with him, he carried it in his arms and gently handed the dog to her.

“Hayate missed you, Lieutenant,” he teased, laughing a little. 

Riza took the dog carefully from him with a pleased smile. He laid his hand in front of her door gently as she ordered Hayate to sit on the floor before her brown eyes locked onto his once more.

He felt a tightening in his chest when she placed her hand behind the door as well.

“Lieutenant,” he whispered in the silent hall. “Today was quite particular, but… I’m glad. How about you?”

Riza looked down briefly before meeting his eyes again. “It is the same for me,” she muttered as well.

“Is that so?” Roy asked, a slow smile forming on his lips as their gazes continued to meet. He could hardly breathe, but he did not mind it at all.

“It’s probably a miracle, Colonel,” she breathed as they leaned closer towards each other.

His hand on the door felt warmer, lighter as time passed by.

“Hmm,” he murmured his agreement, feeling ticklish with the proximity of her hair against his cheeks. “It did not rain, after all.”

His lids fell involuntarily as her scent filled his senses again.

But just when their lips were a hair’s breadth apart from each other, they both opened their eyes and moved away to a more respectable distance. At the same time.

Afterwards, they also sighed in disappointment at the same time.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then, Lieutenant,” Roy said, his voice breaking a little as he scratched his head.

“Yes, sir,” Riza said as he withdrew his hand from the door.

“Tomorrow,” he whispered, stubbornly holding her gaze as she repeated his words with a grin before the door closed. 

He sighed against it, fixing his stance before putting his hands inside his pockets.

Slowly, he retraced the steps they took together with a smile on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written with Eiri Leo's song called ["Silly"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cow8vGHVegs) in mind. Basically, it's Riza's POV in this fic, haha. 
> 
> Also I thought about the glasses thing because I just got my glasses fixed and I remember seeing a royai modern au comic about Riza stealing Roy's glasses years ago when I knew about royai but I wasn't that affected by it yet. (Lol, who are we fooling here???) Anyway, royai in glasses is just hot. It is fact. 
> 
> Take care, though, and let me know what you think! ^_^
> 
> Edit [23 Aug 2020]: I wrote "...neared East City" when I meant Central City since this fic is supposed to follow Elizabeth, so *dogeza*


End file.
